It’s remote. It’s empty. And it’s sitting high up on the top of a mountain in the Flint Creek Range of the Rockies.
Granite is the home of unique ruins, a sprawling mill site, and what were once two of the longest aerial trams in the United States. Come along as we explore the ruins of this old mining town that was once one of the biggest cities in Montana, and at its height was the largest producer of silver in the world, earning this town the nickname “The Silver Queen”. This is the story of Granite, Montana. In this video, we explain the ruins of the mill site and what's accessible of the mine, as well as Main Street Granite, home of the Miner's Union Hall.

This massive field of hard, limestone rocks are what’s left of the deadliest rockslide in North America, after 110 million tons broke from the unstable Turtle Mountain, sweeping down the mountainside and pummeling part of the mining town of Frank, Alberta.

In this video, we’re exploring the site of the disaster, looking for what is left behind of this once booming town, and visiting the Frank Slide Interpretive Center to see what stories we can learn and remember. This is the town of Frank, Alberta, in mid-west Canada, and this is the story of the terrible Frank Rockslide.

I’ve explored several ghost towns across North America, but this town’s history ranks among the most dramatically gripping stories I’ve looked into, right up there with the underground fires of Centralia, Pennsylvania.

Historian and author Bob Chaulk takes us out on his boat through the islands of Lower Prospect and out to the wreck site of the steamship Atlantic.

Just one of these treasures would be worth over a billion dollars in today's money, and we're on the trail of two of them. We aren't looking for the treasures themselves, but the remains of those who hid them and others who spent their lives hunting for these treasures over the past 450 years. There's loot hidden by Spanish sailors to prevent it from being captured by Sir Francis Drake, and other treasure from a wrecked galleon salvaged by natives in the 1700's.

This is a journey I've wanted to do my whole life, and when COVID hit in 2020 and the Amtrak fares dropped, it was the perfect opportunity to hit the rails and see the whole continent!

We start on Day 1 at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, riding through Pennsylvania aboard Amtrak's "PENNSYLVANIAN", traveling through Horseshoe Curve and seeing the historic sites of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

After a brief stopover in Pittsburgh, we take the "CAPITOL LIMITED" to Chicago, where we tour some of the historic sites and see the historic Union Station on Day 2.

From Chicago, we take the "SOUTHWEST CHIEF" across the whole Western United States, riding through the prairies and across the American deserts on Day 3 and into 4. We roll into California, through the smoke of the wildfires and through historic Sante Fe rail yards.

Across these three days, we met several fellow travelers, each with their own unique stories and Amtrak workers who truly love what they do.

So very little is known about this town deep in this remote canyon. We aren't actually even certain of the name! My friend, Alan, spotted marks for four vacant buildings on a 1957 map and what they were was completely unknown. For his new book, we had to hike in and find out just what was there!

Does this town date back to 1875, when the very first claim was worked in this canyon? Or is it later working from the 1920's? In the summer heat just beyond Death Valley, CA, we had to hike down and find out.

Between Alum Creek and Uncle Sam Creek in Nevada, just south of Goldfield, we found several collapsed structures and even an old automobile.

Built in 1935 and once owned by famous actor Spencer Tracy, we're taking this beautiful vintage sailboat on a voyage out to Catalina Island for 3 days. This boat can be chartered, but this wasn't a charter trip - my friend, Eric Lara, is friends with the owners of the vessel, who took us all out on this wonderful adventure. I just had to cover the food!

Mike and Pip were wonderful hosts who both knew pretty much all there is to know about both sailing and Catalina Island history.

UPDATE - just before releasing this video, I found out he's no longer chartering the vessel. That's really unfortunate, because I was already getting requests for his information!